Chapter 664: The Son Is Gone

When Xu Damao held Xie Xiaolan and rushed out the door, his legs went weak.

Xie Xiaolan opened her eyes a slit and said, "The child... my child..."

Xu Damao held her tightly, looking around frantically like a madman.

People were coming and going on the street, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Pedicab! Pedicab! I'm taking a patient, I'll pay extra!"

A pedicab driver was pedaling along, and when he looked back—good heavens, a man was holding a woman, and the woman was still dripping blood.

The driver's heart tightened, and he hurriedly turned the vehicle around, stopping in front of Xu Damao with a "creak."

"Comrade, get on quickly! Which hospital are you going to?"

Xie Xiaolan opened her eyes weakly: "Go to... Beijing Hospital."

Xu Damao placed her on the vehicle, his hands shaking violently.

At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else; there was only one thought in his mind: nothing can go wrong, absolutely nothing can go wrong! The son he had finally managed to conceive could not just be gone like this!

Upon arriving at the hospital, Xu Damao pulled out five yuan and shoved it into the driver's hand, then scooped up Xie Xiaolan and rushed inside.

"Move aside! Move aside!"

At the emergency entrance, Jiang Mei happened to be coming out. When she saw someone rushing in carrying a person and realized it was Xie Xiaolan, her expression softened slightly. She turned her head and shouted to two young doctors: "This is my patient, take her to the operating room quickly! She has a history of miscarriage, hurry!"

As Xie Xiaolan was being placed onto the stretcher, she beckoned to Jiang Mei.

Jiang Mei leaned in, and Xie Xiaolan whispered something in her ear.

The operating room door closed with a "bang," and the corridor became terrifyingly quiet.

Xu Damao's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto a bench, shaking all over like a sieve.

He looked at his two hands—they were covered in blood, a blinding red.

His mind was a blank; he couldn't think of anything.

Inside the operating room, Jiang Mei sent the two nurses out, took off her mask, leaned against the wall, and said with a wry smile: "Get up, stop pretending. I just don't understand, what are you trying to gain?"

Xie Xiaolan sat up from the operating table and tidied her clothes with a grin: "Thank you, Doctor Jiang, I'm not trying to gain anything. It's clearly Xu Damao who is infertile, yet he refuses to go to the hospital for a checkup. Can you blame me?"

Jiang Mei pointed at her and lowered her voice: "I'm warning you, don't you dare talk about what happened today. Otherwise, I won't even be able to be a doctor anymore."

Half an hour later, Jiang Mei put her mask back on, assumed a look of exhaustion, and pushed the door open to walk out.

"Are you a family member?"

Xu Damao stood up abruptly, his lips trembling: "H-how is she?"

Jiang Mei looked at him, sighed, and shook her head: "Your wife already had a history of miscarriage. The child couldn't be saved. The mother is fine, but she needs to rest well for a few days."

Xu Damao's legs went weak, and he sat back down on the chair.

His mind was buzzing, and he couldn't hear anything. The child was gone...

He stood up numbly and turned to walk away.

Jiang Mei called out from behind: "Hey, aren't you going in to see your wife?"

Xu Damao didn't even look back.

He walked along unsteadily, as if he had lost his soul.

People were coming and going on the street, but he couldn't see anything; the only thing echoing in his ears was the phrase "the child couldn't be saved."

When he reached the entrance of Xueru Clothing Store in Qianmen, he suddenly saw a Jeep parked on the side of the road.

The passenger door opened, and someone stepped out.

Xu Damao was stunned, blinked hard, and saw clearly that it was his ex-wife, Xiaomei.

Xiaomei was wearing a well-tailored Lenin suit, her hair combed neatly as if cut by a knife, and she was accompanied by an assistant carrying a bag.

Xu Damao looked closely and realized the assistant was actually Xiaoli.

He was taken aback, instinctively leaned in, and forced a smile: "Sister Xiaomei, Sister Xiaoli."

Xiaomei glanced at him indifferently, not even lifting her eyelids, and started to walk away.

Xiaoli, standing beside her, didn't forget to tease him, covering her mouth and laughing: "Xu Damao, Sister Mei isn't a Factory Director anymore!"

Xu Damao was stunned: "Huh? She got fired too?"

Xiaoli burst out laughing: "What are you talking about! Our Sister Mei is now the General Manager of Xueru Clothing—isn't that infuriating? You ignored her back then, and now you can't even reach her, right?"

After saying this, Xiaoli swayed her waist and followed Xiaomei into the store.

The smile on Xu Damao's face froze.

He stood there, looking through the glass window—Xiaomei was directing operations inside the store, surrounded by several clerks, looking quite impressive.

Through Xie Xiaolan, he knew that Xueru Clothing was now a major foreign exchange earner, and it was said to be more profitable than the Red Star Rolling Mill.

Even in the middle of summer, he suddenly felt a chill all over his body.

Regret gnawed at his heart like a knife.

Back then, he had foolishly divorced Xiaomei and risked everything to find a widow in the countryside.

And what was the result? Xiaomei not only gave birth to two sons for Yan Jiefang but was now the General Manager of Xueru Clothing.

And himself? After all that tossing and turning, his son was gone.

Xu Damao raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

With a crisp "slap," passersby all turned to look at him.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He let out a heavy sigh and suddenly didn't want to return to the Qianmen Small Courtyard—Dabao was there, and he really didn't want to face that face alone.

He gritted his teeth, hailed a pedicab, and headed straight for the Siheyuan.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he ran into Yan Jiefang.

Yan Jiefang was carrying a box of pastries; he was back to visit his father.

As soon as he saw Xu Damao, his eyes rolled, and he approached with a grin: "Yo, Brother Damao, why have you come back to the Siheyuan too?"

Xu Damao snorted unpleasantly: "Congratulations, Comrade Yan Jiefang. You've truly turned over a new leaf. Your Xiaomei is a General Manager now, so you're riding high too, aren't you?"

Yan Jiefang gave a chuckle, not at all annoyed: "Xiaomei is a General Manager, while I'm still just an ordinary driver. But our workplace has good benefits; I can earn seventy or eighty yuan a month, and they even issue a few sets of clothes every year."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao felt even more stifled, and he shot Yan Jiefang a glare: "Do you know what Xiaomei used to do?"

Before the words had even faded, Yan Jiefang's expression changed; he turned his head and walked away, but after two steps he turned back and pointed at Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, I've been polite to you because I remember you helped me in the past. If you bring this up again, I won't be so polite. You also know that the General Manager of Xueru's company has connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world."

Xu Damao spat, couldn't be bothered to pay him any more mind, and turned to walk inside.

Just as he entered the courtyard gate, he saw Qin Huairu moving house, with a young, pretty girl following beside her.

Xu Damao's eyes rolled, that sleazy streak of his coming back up, and he sidled over: "Sister Huairu, aren't you living in Deshengmen? How come you've moved back to this courtyard?"

Qin Huairu didn't even lift her eyelids and ignored him completely.

Xu Damao wasn't annoyed either, but his eyes stared straight at the girl, sizing her up from head to toe several times, and after staring for quite a while, he trotted away.

He went straight back to his mother's house.

Nowadays, Xu Xiaoyun was already married, leaving only Cui Xiu and Luo Jiangtao at home.

Cui Xiu currently had no work to do and was living off the savings she had accumulated, though she didn't have to worry about food or drink.

Seeing Xu Damao enter the door, her face fell: "What made you think of coming to see me?"

Xu Damao sat on the edge of the kang with a mournful face: "Mother, why do you say I'm so unlucky? I finally had a son—Xiaolan had just gotten pregnant, and today she asked me for that house in Qianmen. I didn't give it to her, so I gave her a push, and as a result... she miscarried."

As he spoke, Xu Damao's eye sockets turned red, and he actually shed tears.

Upon hearing this, Cui Xiu's face immediately collapsed, and she began to curse: "You little bastard! I had already given up hope of holding a grandson, and when I found out she was pregnant, I was so happy I told everyone everywhere. Now look, I've slapped my own face!"

Xu Damao hung his head: "Mother, stop scolding me. I'm staying here with you tonight; I can't stay at that place in Qianmen. By the way, why has Qin Huairu moved back to live in this courtyard?"

Cui Xiu sighed and gestured with her chin toward the window: "Hey, it's because she had a falling out with her in-laws. Her in-laws don't know who was gossiping, saying she had someone else on the side, so they kicked her out. So, Qin Huairu bought two rooms in the front row of this courtyard years ago... and she just moved back."

Xu Damao's eyes rolled around, and he lowered his voice: "Who is that girl with her?"